Railway-truck.



No. 680,587. Patented Aug. l3, I901.

N. H. HEFT. I

RAILWAY TRUCK.

(Application filed my 2, 1901.)

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet I.

.0 iil.

FIEIINVENIOB.

No. 680,587. Patented Aug. l3, I901.

N. H. HEFT.

RAILWAY TRUCK.

WITNESSES. INVENTOR.

No. 680,587. Patented Aug. l3, 190i. N. H. HEFT.

RAILWAY TRUCK.

(Application filed may 2, 1901.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

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No. 680,587. Patented Aug. l3, l90l.

N. H. HEFT. I

.RAILWAY fnucK.

(Application filed may 2, 1901.) (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

WITNESSES. 1 INVENTOR. mm. d WW3 UNITED STATES PATENT Ofrrrcn.

NATHAN II. HEFT, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

RAILWAY-TRUCK.

SPEGIFICA TIQN forming part Of Letters Patent N0. 680,587, dated August13, 1901 Application filed May 2, 1901. Serial No. 58,455. (No model.)

' zen of the United States, residing at Bridgeport, county of Fairfield,State of Connecticut, have invented a new anduseful Railway- Truck, ofwhich the following is a specifica tion.

My invention has for its object, to provide a railway-truck adapted foruse on either steam or electric railways, and especially adapted for useon electric railways where heavy cars are required to be run at a highspeed over a rough and uneven road-bed, important-features of novelty inmy'improved truck being that the bolster, elliptical springs, andspringplank are suspended by means of swing-links from the mid-length oflevers which I term secondary equalizing-bars, the inner ends of saidsecondary equalizing-bars being sus v pended from the transom and theouter ends of said secondary equalizing-bars being pivotally connectedby means of swing-links to other equalizing-bars, which I term theprimary equalizing-bars, there being in each truck four secondaryequalizing-bars and two primary equalizing-bars, and the ends of theprimary equalizing-bars resting upon coilsprings, which themselves restupon the side frames. Numerous advantages result from and are peculiarto my novel construction. It is deemed sufficient for the purposes ofthis specification to mention that the weight of the truck as a whole ismuch less than that of any truck of this character heretofore placedupon the market. The general construction and arrangement of parts aresuch that the truck as a whole is stronger and cheaper to build. Thesprings are all in pairs, and each spring carries an equal part of theweight. spring travel of the bolster is nearly three times as great asin any truck heretofore devised, it being understood, of course, that inusing the term bolster I include by implication the car-body as well,which is attached to the bolster in the ordinary or in any preferredmanner, but is not shown in the drawings, as it forms no portion ofmypresent invention.

Another and vitally-important feature of,

my invention and one that is Wholly new is beds the bolster maintainsits horizontal p0- sition-that is, its parallelism to the plane of thehorizonand does not rise and fall with the Wheels, side frames, andtransom.

Otherimportant advantages resulting from my novel construction are that,owing to the fact that the primary equalizing-bars are re cessed withinthe side frames, 1 am enabled to make the journal-box springs longer andmuch more resilient than has heretofore been possible, thereby givinggreater vertical play, I am enabled to check the lateral movement of thebody without a blow and without the interposition of buffer-springs, andI am enabled to dispense with the use of end frames to keep the truck inalinement.

The important benefits resulting from the use of my novel truck may begeneralized under two main heads-first, ease of riding andgreatly-increased comfort to passengers, owing to increased springmotion and reduced motion of the body,rising and falling of the bol=ster and car-body, as well as lateral and swaying movements,beingpractically eliminated, and,second,thatowingto the greatly-increasedspring travel and the novel mode in which the bolster is supported theblows of the wheels at the joints are almost completely dissipatedi. 6.,taken up during their transmission through the springs-Whereby the lifeof the truck is greatly increased and the cost of maintenance not onlyof the track: rails, but of the wheels, axles, springs, truckframes as awhole, and car-bodies as a whole,

is enormously reduced. My invention thus enables me to simultaneouslyreduce the cost of construction, reduce the cost of maintenance, and addgreatly to the ease and comfort of passengers. The i ple of myinvention, it should be borne in mind that each time a wheel strikes atrack- In order to clearly understand the princirail joint more or lessof a blow is given. If the road-bed is rough and uneven or the railshave sunk at the joints, these blows materially shorten the life of thetrack-rails, the trucks, and the car-bodies. transmitted through thejournal-boxes to the side frames and from the side frames throughintermediate parts to the bolster and carbody.

In my improved truck the novel mode in which the bolster is supportedand the inter- Each blow is IOO - to designate the several parts.

position between the spring-plank and the side frames of primary andsecondary equalizing-bars, sets of spring-links, and coilsprings largelydissipatei. 6., take up these blows before they reach the bolster andpractically eliminate as a destructive agent to the track-rails thereturn blow of the body to the rails.

In order to accomplish the desired results, I have devised the noveltruck, which I will now describe in detail, referring to theaccompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, and usingreference characters Figure 1 is a side elevation of my novel truck;Fig. 2, a transverse section on the line 2 2 in Fig. 1 looking towardthe right, the truck being indicated as upon a level roadbed; Fig. 3,,asimilar view illustrating the action of the secondary equalizing-barsand swing-linksin retaining the spring-plank and bolster in their normalhorizontal position when one side of the truck is depressed, as upon acurve or an uneven road-bed; Fig. 4, atransverse section on the line 4 4in Fig. 2 looking toward the left; Fig. 5, a transverse section of oneof the side frames on the line 5 5 in Fig. 1 looking toward the right,an equalizing-bar spring appearing in elevation; and Fig. 6 is a detailplan View on the line 6 6 in Fig. 5.

20 denotes the side frames; 21, the transom; 22, the bolster; 23, theprimary equalizing-bars; 24, the secondary equalizing-bars, and 25 thespring-plank. The side frames and the transom are formed from plates ofrolled steel securely bolted together, fillingpieces being placedbetween the side plates, wherever required, to give the necessarystrength. I have shown the side frames as closed at the top and open atthe bottom. These details of construction, however, are not of theessence of my invention, it being immaterial of how many plates the sideframes and transom are composed or the gether. It is essential, however,that each side frame be provided with a longitudinal recess 26 betweenthe side platesin which the corresponding primary equalizing-bar lies,this construction being compact and strong and enabling me to use longerand more resilient equalizing-bar springs 27 than it has recesses, as at50, (see Fig. 1,) to receive the equalizing-bar springs 27. Thesesprings are seated in cups 34, which rest upon and are rigidly securedto the side frames at the hotbrackets 45, which are themselves undersides of heads 36 at the ends of the primaryequalizing-bars, saidequalizing-bars being supported wholly by said springs. Vertical bolts37 are shown as extending through the side frames, equalizing-barsprings, heads 36, the cups, and through-clips 38 on the under side ofthe side frames. It will be noted in Fig. 5 that the heads 36 at theends of the primary equalizing-bars are free to move vertically inrecesses 26 in the side frames.

The bolster, which I have indicated by 22, lies within the transom 21,but is wholly independent-thereof, (see Fig. 4,) and rests uponbolster-clamps 39, by which it is secured to the tops of ellipticalsprings 40. These elliptical springs rest upon and are secured tospringscradles 41, which in turn are secured to cross-heads 42 at theends of spring-plank 25, the side frames being provided with recesses,as at 51, to give clearance to the ends of the springs.

The secondary equalizing-bars,which I have indicated by 24, are avitally-important part of my invention. The cross-heads 42 at the endsof the spring-plank are pivoted to the lower ends of swing-links 43, theup er ends of said swing-links being pivoted to the mid length of thesecondary.equalizing-bars. (See Fig. 4 in connection with Fig. 2.) Thein ner ends of the secondary equalizing-bars are pivoted to swing-links44, the upper ends of which are pivoted by means of bolts 46 to rigidlybolted to the transom.

47 denotes the motor-support bars, which are also carried by bolts 46,(see Figs. 2 and 4,) said bolts passing through elongated openlugs 48 inorder to permit slight lateral movement of the motor-support barswithout strain upon the brackets and bolts. of the secondaryequalizing-bars are pivoted to yokes 49, which are rigidly secured toand extend upward from the mid-length of the lprimary equalizing-bars.(See Fig. 1 in connection with Figs. 2 and 4.)

special manner in which they are bolted to- I Theouter ends Theoperation of my novel truck in use will,

1 it is thought, be readily understood by comparing Fig. 3 with Fig. 2,the latter showing the truck upon a level road-bed and the formershowing clearly the position on an inclined road-bed of the secondaryequalizing-bars, the

spring-plank, and the swing-links, whose operation insures that thebolster, and conse- 'quently the car-body, will maintain its n01-malhorizontal position, even though one side frame be considerably lowerthan the other,

so that the transom is at a perceptible incline to the horizontal"plane. In order to clearly understand how this parallelism of thebolster to the horizontal plane is maintained when the transom lies atan inclination to the horizontal plane, it must be borne in mind thatthe spring-plank, the elliptical springs,

IIO

said secondary equalizing-bars being suspended by means of swing-linksfrom the transom and their outer ends being connected by means ofswing-links with the primary equalizing-bars, themselves resting uponcoilsprings, which in turn rest upon the side frames.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. In a railway-truck, thecombination with a bolster, a transom and side frames, of primaryequalizingbars carried by the side frames, secondary equalizing-bars.pivotally connected to the outer ends of the primary equalizing-bars,the inner ends of said secondary equalizing-bars being pivotallyconnected to the transom, elliptical springs upon which the bolsterrests and a spring-plank upon which the elliptical springs rest and theends of which are pivotally suspended from the mid-lengths of thesecondary equalizingbars.

2. In a railway-truck, the combination with a bolster, a transom andside frames, of primary equalizing-bars the ends of which rest uponequalizing bar springs which themselves rest upon the side frames,secondary equalizing-bars pivotally connected to the outer ends of theprimary equalizing-bars, the inner ends of said secondary equalizingbarsbeing pivotally connected to the transom, elliptical springs upon whichthe bolster rests and a spring-plank upon which the elliptical springsrest and the ends of which are pivotally suspended from the mid-lengthsof the secondary equalizing-bars.

3. In a railway-truck, the combination with a bolster, a transom andside frames, of secondary equalizing-bars pivotally connected at theirouter ends to the primary equalizing-bars, swing-links by which theinner ends of the secondary equalizing-bars are connect ed to thetransom, elliptical springs support ing the bolster, a spring-planksupporting the elliptical springs and swing-links by which the ends ofthe spring-plank are con nected to the mid-lengths of the secondaryequalizing-bars.

4. In arailway-truck, the combination with a bolster, a transom and sideframes having longitudinal recesses 26, of primary equalizing-bars lyingin said recesses, springs upon which the ends of said primaryequalizingbars rest and which themselves rest upon the side frames,secondary equalizing-barspivotally connected to the primaryequalizingbars, the inner ends of said secondary equah izing-bars beingpivotally connected to the transom, a spring-plank, elliptical springssupported by the spring-plank and themselves supporting the bolster andswing-links by which the ends of the spring-plank are connected to themid-length of the secondary equalizing-bars.

5. The side frames 20 comprising side plates having correspondingcentral recesses 51 and on opposite sides thereof corresponding recesses32 and 50 and between said side plates a longitudinal recess26,substantially as shown, for the purpose specified.

6. In a railway-truck, the combination with side frames comprising sideplates having recesses 50 and between said side plates longitudinalrecesses 26, of primary equalizingbars lying in recesses 26, the ends ofsaid equalizing-bars resting upon equalizing-bar springs lying inrecesses 50 and supported by the side frames.

'7. In a railway-truck, the combination with side frames comprising sideplates having recesses 50 and cups 34.- resting upon the side frames atthe bottoms of the recesses and between said side plates longitudinalrecesses 26, of primary equalizing-bars lying in recesses 26, the endsof said bars being provided with heads carrying inverted cups 35, andequalizing-bar springs resting upon cups 34 and carrying cups 35 and theprimary equaling-bars.

8. In a railway-truck, the combination with a transon and primaryequalizing-bars, of a bolster, elliptical. springs by which it issupported, a spring-plank upon which the elliptical springs rest, andsecondary equalizing bars whose inner ends are pivotally connected tothe transom, whose outer ends are pivotally connected to the primaryequalizingbars and from whose mid-lengths the springplank, ellipticalsprings and bolster are pivotally suspended.

9. In a railway-truck, the combination with a transom and primaryequalizing-bars, of a bolster, elliptical springs by which it issupported, a spring-plank having at its ends cross heads upon which theelliptical springs rest, secondary equalizing-bars whose outer ends arepivotally connected to the primary equalizing-bars, swing-linksconnecting the inner ends of the secondary equalizing-bars with thetransom and other swing-links connecting the cross-heads on thespring-plank with the mid'lengths of the secondary equalizing-bars.

10. In a railway-truck, the combination with a transom, a bolster withinthe transom but free to move independently thereof, and ellipticalsprings supporting the ends of the bolster, of primary equalizing-bars,a springplank which supports the elliptical springs and secondaryequalizing-bars whose outer ends are pivotally connected to the primaryequalizing-bars, whose inner ends are pivotally suspended from thetransom and from whose mid-lengths the ends of the springplank arepivotally suspended.

11. In a railway-truck, the combination with side frames, a transom, twoprimary equalizing-bars and four primary equalizingbar springsintermediate said equalizing-bars and the side frames, of a bolster,four ellip tical springs upon which the bolster rests, a spring-plankupon which the elliptical springs rest, and four secondary equalizingbars whose inner ends are pivotally connected to the transom, whoseout-er ends are pivotally connected to the primary equalizing-bars andfrom whose mid-lengths the springplank, elliptical springs and bolsterare pivotally suspended.

12. In a railway-truck, the combination with side frames, axles, springsintermediate the side frames and the axles, primary equalizing-bars andsprings intermediate the primary equalizing-bars and the side frames, ofa transom, a bolster, elliptical springs by which the bolster issupported, a s prin g-plank upon which the elliptical springs rest, andsecondary equalizing-bars whose inner ends are pivotally connected tothe transom, whose outer ends are pivotally connected to the primaryequalizing-bars and from whose midlengths the spring-plank, ellipticalsprings and bolster are pivotally suspended, said three sets ofspringsbeing in pairs and each spring carrying an equal share of theweight.

13. In a railway-truck, the combination with a transom and aspring-plank, of secondary equalizing-bars from whose mid-lengths theends of the spring-plank are pivotally suspended, and primaryequalizing-bars to which the outer ends of the secondary equalizing-bars are pivotally connected, the inner ends of said secondaryequalizing bars being pivotally suspended from the transom.

14. In a railway-truck, the combination with a transom and aspring-plank, of secondary equalizing-bars, swing-links intermediate themid-lengths of the secondary equalizingbars and the ends of thespring-plank, other swing-links intermediate the inner ends of thesecondary equalizing-bars and the transom, and primary equalizing-barsto which the outer ends of the secondary equalizingbars are pivotallyconnected.

15. In a railway-truck, the combination with a transom, a bolster, aspring-plank and elliptical springs intermediate the bolster and thespring-plank, of secondary equalizingbars from whose mid-lengths theends of the spring-plank are pivotally suspended and primaryequalizing-bars to which the outer ends of the secondary equalizing-barsare pivotally connected, the inner ends of said secondaryequalizing-bars being pivotally suspended from the transom.

16. In a railway-truck, the combination with a transom and aspring-plank, of secondary equalizing-bars from Whose mid-lengths theends of the spring-plank are pivotally suspended, primaryequalizing-bars to which the outer ends of the secondary equalizingbarsare pivotally connected, the inner ends of said secondaryequalizing-bars being pivotally suspended from the transom, sideframes,and coil-springs intermediate the ends of the primaryequalizing-bars and the side frames.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

NATHAN H. HEFT.

Witnesses:

G. STANLY HEFT, A. M. Woos'rER.

